Monday, March 14, 2016

Book Review: Me Before You By Jojo Moyes

I feel like I may have been the last person on the planet to read ME BEFORE YOU or any of Jojo Moyes' novels. I actually won a set of her novels last year but haven't read any of them, mostly because I usually have too many review books to read over books for my own enjoyment. But, since the publisher sent me these as a winner, I do feel a little obligated to read them. I also tend to avoid books if they have a lot of hype. When a book is being raved about and talked about, I tend to hold off for a bit, because I am always afraid it is going to be a let down and my expectations are too high which then often leads to disappointment, not because it was a bad book, but because I let all the "buzz" damage my experience. But, this book kept popping up...STILL....in my social media newsfeeds and then I heard Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy mention it several times in her podcasts (What Should I Read Next?). So, I decided it was time for me to dig in and see what it was all about.

This book TOTALLY lived up to the hype. First of all, I love novels set in the UK. I don't know why, because the weather is usually dreary and rainy, but I have always been fascinated by novels that are set there. I didn't even know it was set in a village near London until I started reading and in fact, I really didn't know much about it at all except that it was a romantic story. Again, this is usually a turn off for me, but not this time. I think reading this without knowing too much about it is good. Just traveling through the story of Louisa and Will and their families was quite an experience. Moyes knows how to create characters that readers will buy into, care about, and deeply miss when the book is done.

So, if you don't know anything about it, here's a bit of a tease to convince you to read it, if you were like me and have been avoiding it.

Louisa is newly unemployed. Will is a quadriplegic. Louisa becomes his caretaker (aka babysitter) and the two of them have quite a difficult time getting along with each other. Louisa's boyfriend, Patrick, is too focused on training for a marathon to worry about Louisa's new job and her family is thrilled that she is working at all since she seems to be solely responsible for financially taking care of her parents, her sister, and her nephew. Will's family has an ulterior motive for hiring Louisa and when she finds out their secret, she will have to decide if she can continue to play the part the family expects her to be.

I laughed, I cried, I cried some more and then I cried again. It really is a love story that will shatter your heart into a million pieces....in a good way....if that is possible. Just. Read. It. Then you will understand what I mean. There is also a sequel to ME BEFORE YOU, titled ME AFTER YOU.

Favorite Quote:

"It was as if everything had shifted, fragmented and settled

in some other place, into a pattern I barely recognized."

Also, in case you haven't heard, ME BEFORE YOU will be in theaters this June. I can't wait, but this trailer will give you a little tease.

Jojo Moyes was born in 1969 and grew up in London. After a varied career including stints as a minicab controller, typer of braille statements for blind people for NatWest, and brochure writer for Club 18-30, she did a degree at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, London University. In 1992, she won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to attend the postgraduate newspaper journalism course at City University. Jojo worked as a journalist for ten years, including a year at South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, and nine at The Independent where she worked variously as News Reporter, Assistant News Editor and Arts and Media Correspondent.

Jojo has been a full-time novelist since 2002, when her first book, SHELTERING RAINwas published. Since then she has written eleven novels, all of which have been widely critically acclaimed. She has won the Romantic Novelist’s Award twice, and ME BEFORE YOU has been nominated for Book of the Year at the UK Galaxy Book Awards. She is married to journalist Charles Arthur and has three children.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me this book through a giveaway. This review is my honest opinion. I was not compensated in any way for this review. If you choose to purchase the book through the above link, I may receive as small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com.

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On this blog you will find book and product reviews as well as tips and snippets from our life in small-town Iowa. As a married mom of 3, I keep plenty busy with their activities. In my spare time, I substitute teach, volunteer in our community, read, play scrabble,and drink wine. I also write for the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

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